How Much Do Live Sound Engineers Make?
So, how much money do live sound engineers make?
As you can imagine, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Instead, I’d like to show you a few profiles that represent a cross-section of the industry. Keep in mind that the numbers included below are very specific to one location and person.
PROFILE 1: San Francisco Bay Area
Nathan Lively – Sound Engineer/Designer (That’s me!)
Presently I split my time like this: 30% concert, 30% corporate, 30% working on Sound Design Live (that’s this site!). For most jobs, I’m paid as follows:
$20-25/hour working as an A1 or A2 on concerts.
$25-32/hour working on corporate events. These are mostly subcontracting situations where I receive a percentage of the total labor charges.
$50/hour working with my own clients and bringing in my own equipment. These jobs only happen a few times a year. Last year I produced a corporate webcast event for almost $100/hour. Great, I know, and I’m trying to get more of that work!
$0/hour working on Sound Design Live. Help support it by buying a book or donating!
A couple of years ago I worked mostly as a sound designer and contracts ranged from $500 to $2,500. It was fun and could potentially have resulted in more money, but it was hard to put together a workable schedule. Rehearsals and meetings would conflict and I would have months of down time. Before that I toured, which earned me $550/week ($2,200/month) but was emotionally taxing.
In Slovakia I made €75/day ($100) subcontracting. In Portugal I earned €150/day ($188) working with my own clients. The first sound engineering job I ever had in Portugal paid €35/day ($44), and I was just happy to be able to stay in the country. After that first show I went to the bar down the street that was so small that you could only squeeze in, order your drink, and walk back into the street. I spent half my money on two caipirinhas and felt great.
PROFILE 2: Prague (Czech Republic)
Steve Smith – Sound Engineer & Musician
Prague rates look like this:
50€ to do live sound for one concert in a small club using their gear.
75€ to be soundman for one night at a club with two stages, two bands, and one DJ crew.
250€ to do sound for a show where you bring mics and an FX rack.
200-400€ for a wedding gig where you bring the sound system and DJ.
50€ per musician for a band.
Stay tuned for a more in-depth look at Steve’s experience working in Prague next week.
PROFILE 3: Bratislava (Slovakia)
Michal – Sound Engineer & Musician
60€ as a helper for local gigs, but €100 for a corporate party.
700€/month as a broadcast sound engineer (rate has held steady for the past 15 years).
100€ for composing and recording 72 different sounds for an iPad app.
I also do technical support for the most famous band in our country. For one gig I get 180€, but it takes three days of my life: one day to pick up all of the equipment, one day for the gig, and one day to return it all.
PROFILE 4: Athens (Greece)
Dimitris Sotiropoulos – Sound Engineer/Designer
The live work I take offers anywhere from 100€ το 400€ depending on how large the “pie” is to cut. For the past three summers I have been doing monitors for a well known Greek duo, which pays 300€/event at the moment. Most live gigs during the winter take place in bars or small cafes, which involves more work setting up, running cables, and doing both FOH and Monitors for 3-4 people. Negotiated fees can range anywhere from 100-250€/event.
I try to take any audio related project at present, since we’ve been in free fall — the economy that is — these past years. Here are some examples of summer projects and their negotiated fees:
1,500€ for renting out some of my studio equipment to set up a remote recording location in a country house for an album’s pre-production sessions.
150€/day to rewire a studio, which reminded me how challenging it can be to get the normaling right on the patchbays, keeping cable lengths to a minimum, and satisfying my OCD with regard to having everything as neat as possible. It took me ten days to get it up and running to minimum prerequisites; then again, it was only me and a soldering iron. Need a week or so to wrap it up with no more downtime.
600€ for a sound design project for a cosmetics company’s social media video campaign.
350€/day (negotiated) as a backup recording engineer at a three-day festival in Athens (suntan lotion was not provided).
300€ plus expenses for the following: organizing and assembling a complex stage plot and rider for a concert on an island in the Ionian Sea, with limited resources other than those packed and shipped on time by the rental company; programming four shows for both Avid Venue Consoles (FOH-Monitors) for the two acts that night on the boat trip there and the night before into the early morning; and recording the first act via direct outs from the monitors console to my HD Rig (32ch). A nightmare of timing and organization.
1,500€ for booking a lockout recording session next month for a week.
I’ll have more about Dimitris’ experience next week.
Want to add your financial information to the mix? Contact me or comment below.
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